Canterlot: Her Creation and Her Architects

by vren55


Fears

Fears

“Tower!” shouted Barbican as he raced toward the fallen mare, with Golden Triangle close behind. The dash of the two stallions was curbed when White Tower clonked Barbican on the head with a hoof.

“Get away!” screamed the mare, her eyes screwed shut. White Tower was shivering on the ground as if the temperature had dropped fifty degrees and her limbs were flailing like a madpony.

“Celestia what’s happening?” gasped Vaultaire. The alicorn shook her head disbelievingly, her voice more nervous than Vaultaire could remember.

“I don’t know, but we have to get out of here before...” And the princess was turned speechless as Barbican charged at one of the silver birches, shattering it. With alarming speed, the pegasus shot at another of the shrubs, bucking it and tearing at its leaves with his bear hooves.

“I will buck you all to Tartarus! You monster trees! How do you like that Nightmare Moon? COME OUT AND FACE ME YOU BITCH! GIVE ME BACK MY LANCERS!” roared Barbican. His voice was hysterical with fear, even though he was attacking the helpless bushes like a woodspony with an axe. Vaultaire and Celestia’s eyes were wide as they backed away from the pegasus. They bumped into somepony, a white unicorn sat down upon her haunches, tears running down her face.

“Oh no... please... don’t go! Don’t you love me?” whimpered Chartres.

“Everybody stay calm!” rasped Celestia. The alicorn turned to Spire and sighed in relief as the stallion appeared to be standing normally.

“WhatcouldIdo?I’mnotafighter!Whyareyoucomingforme?It’snotmyfault!” chattered Spire suddenly. The stallion was backing away, his violet eyes unseeing and unfocused. The princess’s eyes widened and she immediately sought Vaultaire. The pegasus was still beside her, but her green eyes, they were misted and tearful.

“You noble bastards! I’ll show you all!” the pegasus’s wings drooped and her ears flopped, “I can make my mark... just don’t tease me!” A feeling of hopelessness filled the alicorn’s heart and she shook the pegasus urgently.

“Vaultaire! Wake up!” pleaded Celestia. The pegasus gave no response and suddenly, the alicorn felt a familiar chill behind her. Turning, Celestia gazed upon the armored form of...

“Nightmare Moon! But how?” gasped Celestia.

The midnight alicorn cackled in glee, “Because thou art weak and cowardly older sister! NOW DIE!” A dark beam of purple magic erupted from the Nightmare’s horn. Celestia quickly threw up her strongest shield, but the ray pierced right through her shield and slammed into her. The white alicorn was thrown across the rocky platform, landing heavily on her side. Before her, was Sa’id, his face twisted in a puzzled expression.

“Not you too!” groaned Celestia as despair overtook her.

At that, Sa’id blinked and cheerfully inquired, “Princess, why are you throwing yourself all over the place?” Celestia's eyes boggled and she burst out laughing from the absurdity of the situation.

“What are you talking about foolish pony! Nightmare Moon is right...” the alicorn blinked. The spectre wasn’t there. Unconvinced, Celestia stretched out her magical senses. There wasn’t any sign of her.

“I admit, it’s rather hilarious to see Equestria’s ruler throwing herself all over the place, but-,”

“Now’s not the time to be talking about it,” said a firm voice. The two turned and saw Golden Triangle, a haggard look on his normally composed face, but his eyes were focused and determined.

“Duke! You’re alright!” gasped Celestia.

We are fine your highness, but now is not the moment to talk. The others must be freed from this accursed spell. We think we have understood the function of it,” said Golden Triangle, his no-nonsense voice restoring Celestia’s composure. The frightened screams and whimpers of the other ponies also helped to convey the urgency of the situation.

“Understood duke, what art thy conclusions on this malicious sorcery?” demanded Celestia. The grim faced unicorn trotted to Vaultaire. The pegasus’s eyes were clenched and her hooves were trying to cover her ears, as if there was some incomprehensible cacophony that only she could hear and that she had to drown out.

“There is no time to waste. We shall explain later. Right now, we need laughter, lots of laughter,” said Golden Triangle firmly. Sa’id blinked and let out a guffaw of incredulity.

“Laughter? Why that’s easy! Your highness, sorry, but I need to borrow this.” With a swift bite, Sa’id plucked a white feather from the bemused Celestia’s outstretched wing and took it to Vaultaire.

“Thou hast got to be pulling our leg,” groaned Golden Triangle as Sa’id began to mercilessly unleash the tickling powers of the alicorn feather on the unfortunate pegasus.

It worked. Vaultaire started belting out laughter as the coarseness of Celestia’s feather ruffled her ticklish areas. She couldn’t help it and when Sa’id stopped her eyes were their brilliant green once more. Coughing, the pegasus heaved in deep breaths, only to have them squeezed out by a double legged super-hug by a certain alicorn.

“VAULTAIRE! DO NOT EVER LEAVE US LIKE THAT AGAIN!” yelled Celestia happily, her Royal voice nearly shattering Vaultaire’s eardrums.

“I’ll try not to Celestia,” chuckled Vaultaire weakly, if only to preserve her sense of hearing. Golden Triangle didn’t have time to enjoy the touching scene though as he had immediately plucked a feather himself and with Sa’id, began to tickle the rest of the other ponies.

Byzas spluttered incomprehensible babble of laughter as Sa’id wrecked havoc with his hooves. Chartres soon followed after a few well placed flicks from Golden Triangle. With Vaultaire and Celestia’s help, they managed to corner Barbican and give him the tickle treatment.

Finally, they surrounded White Tower, all with feathers either plucked from the pegasi or Celestia. They immediately started tickling White Tower, but to their shock, nothing happened and if anything, she started to whimper even more. She almost ended up whacking Celestia with a punched out hoof.

“Maybe she isn’t ticklish? Wow that is weird,” said Sa’id with a frown. Without hesitation, Golden Triangle advanced forward, causing the architects to examine him with worry and curiosity. A hoof shot out as he advanced, but adjusting himself a bit, the unicorn allowed the blow to slide off of him. With a little sidestep and a hop that belied his age, the stallion sat next to the whimpering mare and embraced her gently. White Tower pushed away from him, but the unicorn only held onto her tighter and began to sing softly in his bass toned voice. As the other ponies listened, they recognized it as a timeless nursery rhyme.

Hush now, quiet now, it is time to lay thy down thy sleepy head,
Hush now, quiet now, it is time to go to rest,
Little filly do not cry,
Thy dreams will soon be safe tonight so,
Hush now, quiet now, it is time to lay thy down thy sleepy head,
Hush now, quiet now, it is time to go to bed.

And the blue mare stilled and her breathing steadied as she fell asleep. Golden Triangle then turned to the wide-eyed ponies staring at him.

“Well make haste! We have to leave this place!” reminded the unicorn. Immediately, the ponies acted at Golden Triangle’s apt reminder. The unicorns and Celestia lifted White Tower in a field of levitation and then all of them quickly left the bog. Once they hit the edge of the quagmire, they began to gallop not knowing where they were headed, so long as they could put as much distance between themselves and the accursed place.


It was time for Celestia to lower the sun when the eight ponies stopped at a small cave. While the princess did her duty, the ponies gathered around a campfire and broke out their provisions. The alicorn joined them later, out of breath and with her desire to learn what had befallen the group at the forefront of her mind.

"Now that we have the time Golden Triangle, wilt thou tell us what was that sorcery we encountered?” inquired Celestia. Although the alicorn had lived long, in all her years of magical experience, she had never encountered a place that had such an abysmal effect on ponies. Even she succumbed somehow and the alicorn wanted to know why. Golden Triangle took a swig of wine from the canteen he held and sighed.

“We considered all the possibilities during this time and have come to one conclusion. However, we wish to inquire thee what did thou sense. Chartres, canst thou explainest thy premonition?” asked Golden Triangle. The unicorn gulped and her teeth chattered as she tried to recall what she had felt.

“The magic of the place... It felt... wrong. It was like a cold chill that made my stomach feel ill and my horn tingly,” explained Chartres.

“We see... Byzas, Sa’id, may thou explain what did thy feel?” asked Golden Triangle. The two earth ponies glanced at each other and Byzas went first.

“With our earth pony abilities, we sensed a city sunken beneath the bog. Buildings, homes and castles. The very platform we were standing upon used to be the highest roof of one of the castles,” stammered Byzas.

“It wasn’t fun. There was also death, despair. I’ve never felt sadder in my life,” remarked Sa’id. When the two earth pony’s finished Golden Triangle nodded.

“The spell on that place forced us to relive our strongest, most hideous nightmares or memories. It was possibly placed by the inhabitants of that city before it was sunk into the ground. Our most reliable estimation is that this spell is some remnant of Discord’s chaotic sorcery that couldst only be banished by the Elements of Harmony. In this manner, we deduced that the element of laughter would be... the most appropriate medicine and it worked,” said Golden Triangle.

“Discord’s magic? But so much magic to be used on one city?” asked Barbican. As soon as the pegasus finished his question, the architects became witnesses to a Celestial facehoof. The very rare, most undignified, self-deprecating action the ruler of Equestria could ever commit.

“A crux be placed upon our foolishness! The bog, the mist and Discord’s magic.... My little ponies, we had stumbled upon the ruins of Canterlot,” groaned the alicorn. The six ponies eyes widened as they recognized the name from Equestria’s history.

“Canterlot? Your majesty, dost thou meanest the first city on the slopes of Mount Canter, established in Equestria by Princess Platinum, Clover the Clever, Commander Hurricane, Private Pansy, Chancellor Puddinghead and Smart Cookie?” gasped Golden Triangle in shock.

“Indeed. The city was a bastion of friendship, and was Discord’s first target. He first tried to sink the entire city by turning the surrounding land into a pudding. The ponies were more ingenious than he realized though, and they managed to halt the progress of his work. Unfortunately, it was then he unleashed his greatest weapon.” Celestia’s gaze darkened as she recalled a memory from bygone times. “He cursed the land so that anypony who wandered upon it would be in constant thrall to his or her fears. Chaos reigned. Canterlot was immediately abandoned and sank into the earth. I had forgotten about it until now.”

“Thatexplains... Sorry, that explains most of everything, but how was Sa’id not affected?” asked Byzas, his brow furrowed in puzzlement.

“We will take a guess that Sa’id has no particular fear or horrific memory. In that manner, the spell cannot work its magic upon him. Are we right Sa’id?” inquired Golden Triangle. Sa’id nodded, enthusiastically before blinking as he had a realization.

“But sir, I thought you weren’t affected by the spell like I was? How would you understand the spell’s effects?” asked the desert pony. That question caused Golden Triangle to wince noticeably and the rest of the ponies to display various features of confusion. Then, surprisingly, Vaultaire gasped and held a hoof to her mouth in shock.

“No! If it did that how did you...” The unicorn uncharacteristically shrugged his shoulders.

“We are old, though not as old as her majesty, my wayward student. But suffice it to say, we have been on this land long enough to face our fears and accept them. That is how we escaped the clutches of that spell,” said Golden Triangle stoically. The other ponies nodded, and accepted the answer, not willing to probe. Vaultaire on the other hand seemed dumb-struck and had shrunk into her seat, something even Celestia hadn’t seen before.

“What about White Tower then?” asked Chartres quietly. The mare hadn’t woken up and while she was sleeping soundly, everypony was concerned about her wellbeing. Golden Triangle sighed in resignation.

“We have known White Tower for some time. She has secrets, but it is not our place to tell thee and even we can only guess at her fears. What I can tell thee is that laughter would not exorcise the sorcery. Instead, I used kindness to soothe her fears.” There was a small grumble at this limited explanation and all of Golden Triangle’s lecture about The Elements, but it was late and after saying goodnight, the ponies turned themselves into their pallets and bedrolls.

A certain pegasus couldn’t go to sleep though... Vaultaire was rolling all over her pallet. The mare was gripped with a very unfamiliar feeling that turned her stomach and nagged at the back of her head.

Guilt

She knew exactly what Golden Triangle’s greatest fear was. She had been jibing him about it for ages, chucking it in his face constantly and reminding him at his weakest moments.

It was old age.

Why oh why had she been so stupid! How could she be so blinded by her pride, that she was oblivious to the fact that she was daily inflicting a pony with his greatest fear. How could she be such a featherbrained foal! Unable to sleep, Vaultaire launched herself into the sky and flew over to Golden Triangle.

The unicorn hadn’t slept just yet. He was taking a drink of water from his canteen when the pegasus alighted behind him.

“Evening Vaultaire,” said Golden Triangle warily.

“Professor... Is it too late to talk?” asked Vaultaire. The unicorn frowned warily and didn’t lower his guard. It had been a long time since Vaultaire had addressed him with that title. She could be just taunting him as usual.

“Proceed,” said the unicorn cautiously as he sipped from his canteen.

"I’m sorry for reminding you of your age!” blurted Vaultaire. That alone caused Golden Triangle to do a double-take and gagged on his water, completely unbecoming of the noble he was.

“Thou what?” coughed Golden Triangle.

“I... never realized how great the pain ones fears could inflict until today. I’m sorry,” whispered Vaultaire, lowering her head in shame. The unicorn blinked and let out a long sigh.

“Thou hast forgotten we did the same as thou. We apologize for constantly reminding thou of thy fears as well,” said Golden Triangle. Vaultaire blinked and stared at Golden Triangle, who was smiling softly. The pegasus grinned back and lifted back into the air.

“Thanks Goldy, but don’t think I agree with you on those towers!” called out Vaultaire, causing the unicorn to place his hoof upon his visage.

“One step at a time,” muttered Golden Triangle.

Across the camp, Celestia giggled as she listened to her friend and her trusted aide apologize to each other.

“Laughter and kindness have banished the fears of this day. What magic shall Honesty, Generosity and Loyalty bring in the future?” muttered the alicorn as she drifted into sleep.

Author’s Notes: Cliffhanger is resolved. I don’t leave people hanging for too long XD. Now about the city in the bog... lets call it Old Canterlot. There is a very little-known piece of canon from the iOS app “Twilight Sparkle : Teacher for a Day” which explains the Grand Galloping Gala originated when the unicorns put on a party for all the ponies to celebrate the construction of Canterlot. This was pre-Discord, so I was met with a canon conflict problem (since my Canterlot is being constructed Post-Nightmare Moon). So, I used this chapter to address that problem and at the same time, make for some excellent character development and a bit of conflict resolution. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. And no... anticipating question, but the architects do not exemplify The Elements. They do use various elements in some form or manner, but they are not bearers in any way. Ancestors of the mane cast? I’ll leave that up to your imagination.